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Al-Qiblatain
Mosque
(The
Mosque of the Two Qiblahs)
Saudi
Arabia
Al-Qiblatain
Mosque is an old mosque dating from the time of Prophet Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him. It was originally built by Bani
Salamah, who were of the Al-Khazraj tribe, on a small hill near
Wadi Al-`Aqeeq. It is five kilometres northwest of the Prophet’s
Mosque.
It is called Al-Qiblatain
because of the report that some of the Companions had faced two
different Qiblahs (the direction of prayer), during one prayer. The
original Qiblah for Muslims was toward Jerusalem. In the second
year of the hijrah, Allah, the Almighty, revealed the verse of the
Qur'an (Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 144) to Prophet Muhammad, peace and
blessings be upon him, to change the Qiblah to the Ka`bah at the
Sacred Haram (the Grand Mosque) in Makkah. At the time of this
revelation, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon
him, dispatched one of the Companions to convey the newly revealed
verse to the Muslims in the outskirts of the city. The emissary
arrived at the mosque of Bani Salamah, while the people were
engaged in prayer. He announced the news to them that Allah, the
Almighty, had changed the Qiblah. Upon hearing of this new
revelation while they prayed, they immediately changed the
direction of their prayer.
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